EAST GREENBUSH — With the temperature dropping, the geese and timeshare holders aren't the only ones winging it south to Florida this time of year. The Columbia wrestling team left Wednesday for the KSA Duals in Orlando where they will face some of the best competition from across America.

The Blue Devils have made the trip every other year since 2005.

"It is an honor to get not just our names out there, but the Columbia name, the Suburban Council name, the Section II name out there," said senior Evan Wallace, who has gone all three times. "To be out of the state and to do well is something that we really take to heart. We work really hard to get there so we want to go down there and show what New York wrestling can really do. "

This season they will wrestle 10 dual matches over two days at the Disney/ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in the 12-team tournament. Columbia will face four-time defending Alaska state champion Wasilla, defending Utah state champion South Summitt, Miami (Fla.), Timber Creek (Fla.), and Scarsdale and Yonkers from New York state.

"This is why we go," Columbia head coach Anthony Servidone said. "There aren't very many chances in high school to get to grow up so quickly in such a short time."

Servidone's wrestlers are looking forward to the trip. "I am a little less nervous this time," said John McHugh, a 113-pounder. "The first time I went down it was a little bit overwhelming. It is a big place and there are a lot of people watching. It is so much fun to be part of the whole environment. I was pretty small, too. The atmosphere is so cool. You get to meet guys and compete against guys that you would never meet in your life otherwise."

The sport already relies heavily on individual discipline when it comes to pleasing the omnipresent scale that dictates weight classes. The team raised about $1,100 for each of the 26 wrestlers headed down south so there is another layer of responsibility. The team came up with the funding through coin drives, selling merchandise, hosting wrestling tournaments and running a golf tournament.

"They are leaving their environment and first and foremost, as students, they have the responsibility of making up for two-and-a-half days that they miss because of the travel," Servidone said. "They also have to be on their own, some for the first time, fly, some for the first time, and be away from their parents for the first time. They learn, at least a little bit, about being out away from home."

Last season, the Blue Devils traveled south to the Virginia Duals, a national tournament where they faced teams from six different states and won the American Division, but this year the team gets a chance to enjoy the Orlando theme parks at night. One of the best parts about going on the trip is one of the reasons why anyone goes to Florida this time of year.

"The best part is definitely being down there where it is warm," Wallace said. "Any time you can get out the cold up here, well, it's pretty great."